She was one of the first witnesses at the trial of Allied's lawyer, Kelly Mathis, who's charged with more than 150 criminal counts, including racketeering, money laundering and possession of slot machines in what authorities describe as a huge illegal gambling operation that posed as a non-profit that benefited veterans.

Mathis was one of more than 50 people arrested March 13 in a series of raids across the state that shut down Allied's nearly 50 storefronts in Florida.

He says he did nothing improper and that what went on at Allied storefronts was not gambling, merely a series of lawful sweepstakes.

"When you went to Allied Veterans facilities what were you doing?" Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Robert Finkbeiner Jr. asked Hinkson.

"I was gambling," she said.

A retired U.S. Army colonel, Thomas R. Brennan, who lives near Altamonte Springs, testified that when he saw the Allied storefront not far from his home, he thought it was a place where out-of-work veterans could get help, look for jobs and check the Internet.

Instead, he saw a casino filled with 60 to 80 slot machines, he said. It was dark, crowded and near the front door was an armed guard.

In his opening statement Thursday, Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox called the Allied cafes "mini-casinos" that generated $300 million in proceeds over five years.

Customers had to sign a form declaring, "I'm not gambling. I'm purchasing Internet time," Cox said, but they sat at personal computers that looked and sounded like slot machines with games called "Money Bunny" and "Wheel of Riches."

Almost no one used them to get access to the Internet, Cox said. When undercover agents counted, they found 27 Internet users vs. 2,100 game players, he said.

Hinkson said she never used Allied computers to get access to the Internet and knew of no one else who did.

Stone described him as a smart, hard-working, well-respected Jacksonville attorney who "had an impeccable reputation."

Mathis was not an Allied officer and held no ownership stake, Stone said. He was just the group's lawyer, and the advice he gave was how to do things legally.

Allied wound up operating 50 Internet cafes around the state, but before that, it was a small group of veterans in the Jacksonville area who held car washes and bake sales, Stone said.

It grew into an enormously prosperous business because an Oklahoma businessman, Chase Burns, wanted to bring casino-like games to Florida, according to Cox, and Burns went to Mathis for legal advice.

Mathis told him he could avoid having to post a bond by hooking up with a non-profit, and that's when Allied Veterans got involved, Cox said.

Bank and law firm records will show that Mathis' Jacksonville law firm, Mathis & Murphy, was paid $6 million to $7 million over five years, Stone said, but that was because Allied was "a very needy client."

Allied's officers were out fishing and playing golf while Mathis was at the office, "grinding it out," Stone said.

The trial is expected to last a month, according to attorneys.

The day police raided Allied's storefronts, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigned. Her Jacksonville public relations firm had done work for Allied.